Farm Report 8/7/23 - Our own blueberries!

Farm Report 8/7/23 – Our own blueberries!

I was wondering what could possibly top last week’s farm report–the presidential flyover!

Then I realized our blueberries were ripening! We have been eating and sharing blueberries with our volunteers and apparently a dog. Zoey loves blueberries and knows how to push her nose right through the netting and scoop the ripest ones with her tongue! If it wasn’t so funny to watch, I might scold her. We had enough so I could bake some blueberry muffins for our Friday volunteers, but none for you Zoey!

We are having squash vine borer problems. Spraying Bt is a MOFGA-approved treatment, but you have to spray all the undersides of the leaves as well. We have over 2,000 squash plants, including summer and winter varieties. Neena was the first to spot an infected plant among her Three Sisters plantings. We Youtubed a video of a nursery owner who swears injecting the plant with Bt above the hole in the vine kills off the borer and saves the plant. So of course, we wanted to try it on at least a couple of plants. Where do you get a hypodermic needle? Hmmm…I do have my sources, and we now have two! I made Cathy and Carrie do the dirty work; I didn’t want to poke myself with Bt. Once upon a time, I did poke myself when trying to help Patty inoculate the goats (long story). No, we are not going to go around the farm sticking needles into plant stems, but it will be interesting to watch and see if our endeavors were worth it. Those stems are tough! Stay away squash vine borer – we have the tools to deal with you now.

We are adding African eggplants to our boxes. They may be small, but they are welcomed, we are told, at the Portland Health Clinic’s sharing tables. These are in addition to the hot chili peppers and the leaves of sweet potato, amaranth, and pumpkin that go to these particular sites.

Ten very full boxes went to MCHPP on Wednesday. Abigail asked me if there were any cabbages to harvest–apparently a favorite vegetable for her boys to harvest. “Well, as a matter of fact we do!” Sam discovered a unique addition to his visor. “Will this make the farm report?” You bet, Sam!

Burnham and Tom are putting together the prototype for our seedling tables. They hope to complete one next week. Most volunteers on the Fix-It Team are on vacation. It is August, and people should be on vacation! Isn’t that what living in Vacationland is all about? We look forward to the Team’s return in September.

We had 10 Colby Co. Engineering volunteers on Friday. They were a big help in preparing and planting one of our Fall crops. They also helped with some weeding projects–there are always weeding projects. Then we invited them to join us for Friday potluck. This week’s theme was “something stuffed”. Libby outdid herself by sautéing stuffed squash blossoms. They were delicious. I took two!

Scabiosa, a pincushion flower, is now blooming and in our flower bouquets. Thank you, Morning Glory, for generously allowing us to place them in your store for donation. Last week we sold out! Thank you, Diane, Mary, and Christine for your artful arrangements.

Our Long Pie pumpkin patch is looking so healthy and full of zucchini looking pumpkins.

The Ailsa Craig onion plot is close to harvesting–just waiting for the stems to start to bend over. They look as good as last year’s crop. They’re definitely a great choice to grow here in Maine.

Most Saturdays I have the good fortune to have Amy, Robin, Wendy, and Marsha come volunteer. Many weeks I also have other regular volunteers who are willing and able to come for two hours. This means a lot! It’s part of your weekend, and we all know how precious time off is. Plus, often on Saturdays, there are a lot of not so fun projects, bad weather, bugs, etc. Once again, I need to just tell everyone how much we appreciate you, and please eat and enjoy a few blueberries while Zoey is on vacation.